Sunday, March 20, 2011

UVERworld - LAST

The next album up for Review is Last by Uverworld. Uverworld is a 5 piece band with 2 guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a lead singer/Programmer. This band puts out songs like santa gives presents. This album is a Rock album. Very progressive with some songs but very laid back with others. It is a great blend and they still have their UVERworld style that they've always had. Most of the songs have Rapping vocals.

1. GOLD (4:03)
This single is one of the best that I've heard from them in a while. It's very catchy and it hits hard and fast. The guitar's are fast and heavy with a fast drum line behind them. The vocals and programming for the song change it completely. It goes from a heavy rock to a party rock. The vocals are lighter but still match with the guitars and the programming picks them up even more. During breaks and bridges the guitar lightens up but then goes back to hitting hard. This is a fantastic song all together. The Replay value of this song is phenomenal.
This song gets a 9/10 - Very good song but not the best i've ever heard.

2. world LOST world (5:00)
This song is a very good song to a veteran listener. The beginning a capella is hard to bear through but then it gets saved with rhythmic guitars and very unique vocals. The guitar's really make this song. Their mini solos are great and the intricacy and feeling of them just fill every gap this song has. The chorus gets you singing after a few listens but nothing too fantastic.
This song gets a 6/10 - The vocals take some getting used to so they bring the song down.

3. SPARTA (4:24)
This song is just addicting. The beginning catches you and keeps you interested. I almost want to make a loop of the first two lines of the song and just replay those over and over. This song lacks in a lot of feeling but it does have catchy phrases that get you nodding along or singing. The guitars are repetitive and the drums are too loud so during some parts its just a bunch of noise. The Rapping by TAKUYA is very impressive during the chorus. He doesn't miss a beat.
This song gets a 7.5/10 - Very catchy but lacking feeling. This song seems forced to be good. without Takuya it would be worthless

4. Kokoro to Kokoro (5:00)
From the very beginning of the song it is relaxing. Then with a nice drum line it gets a little harder. Its a very peaceful song vocal wise with not a lot of raps. The vocals have sensitive rhymes and very nice transitions. Some of the lyrics seem forced to fit and makes some parts of the song seem out of place. The guitars stay soft with the UVERworld feeling almost the entire song and it keeps it peaceful and adds a little feeling but nothing too strong.
This song gets a 7/10 - The catchy Chorus is brought down by the forced lyrics of the rest of the song. Some replay value but def. not the best song.

5. the truth (4:13)
This song is powerful at the center of it but has weak spots in a lot of it. The vocals for the verse seem like TAKUYA was bored singing them. There is no emotion but you can tell he is singing. Then it suddenly kicks up and gets powerful for the chorus. The guitars and programming match perfectly the entire song and the drums keep the pace going even the the lyrics don't.
This song gets a 6/10 - Only good part is the chorus the rest is decent at best.

6. BARREL (4:20 (ha))
This song starts off peaceful but it gets very heavy. The vocals on this song are weird in every part. The rapping in the verse is alright but it gets overpowered by the guitar. The bridge (woah woah woah woah woahhhh) does not fit at all. It seems like they added it and forgot to take it out. The Chorus is alright but doesn't fit with the rest of the song. If they took this song and made it into like 5 different songs based on each section then it would be good. But not at once. The guitars are cool but they get old considering it doesn't go with anything at all.
This song gets a 4/10 - Everything about it is out of place but its better than some songs ive heard.

7. Hai! Mondaisaku (5:27)
This song is brilliant. It starts off with a very upbeat feeing which is continued throughout the entire song. If you're in a good mood LISTEN TO THIS. It's fantastic. The vocals are very light-hearted and they match the guitar perfectly. The rapping in the song is perfect but i can't tell why. It makes it more relate-able somehow even though I can't understand them. The guitars keep the upbeat feeling while the drums and bass just fuse everything together. This song was written by the entire band which is unusual for them. In my opinion if they make this kind of song every time they should always write it together.
10/10 - I honestly cannot pick out a single thing wrong with this song. It's fun and upbeat and they worked their magic here to make this song.

8. closed POKER (4:35)
This song is very relaxed but very rushed at the same time. If you've ever seen Cowboy Bebop then imagine this song being played in it. The vocals are relaxed and flowing while the music behind is very fast paced. It is a different feeling than the rest of the album definitely. It is catchy as well during the chorus. You won't always want to sing it but in your head it'll replay constantly. The guitars get repetitive but you can't tell till the end. The bass mixes together the fast paced guitars and the flowing vocals.
This song gets an 8/10 - This is a very good song. Not their best work but definitely a solid effort

9. Kanashimi wa Kitto (5:42)
The beginning string ensemble is beautiful though short. It is a relaxing song with loud guitars. If you want to relax and just chill out you can listen to this song and it'll work wonders. The guitars and drums are loud for a soothing song but what they play and the way they do it makes up for it. The vocals are just beautiful. No matter where I am i always sing the intro. Its a great song all together but it isn't perfect
This song gets an 8/10 - Beautiful but not perfect.

10. CHANGE (3:51)
This song is very fast paced and hard. The guitars are never the same boring riff the entire song. And the vocals are very interesting. It has the same kind of relationship as closed POKER. The guitars move fast but the vocals stay on their own pace. The drums make this song so fast paced. I run to this song some times. It has those bursts of music after a few seconds break every now and then to give you a mini adrenaline rush. The solo is very peaceful while the drums keep up their pace. For UVERworld fans it has the new UVERworld feeling with a hint of Bugright.
This song gets a 7/10 - It is good but it doesnt' have great replay value.

11. WANNA be BRILLIANT - (3:31)
This song starts off hard and fast but then it calms down a little. The verse keeps your interest until the chorus where it hooks you for good. The chorus is very very catchy probably the catchiest part of the album. The guitars are a mixture of all the songs in this album. Interesting and different to very simple power chords to individual mini solos. The bass adds its own melody to the song at parts where it becomes important. The drums are great lead ins to every part. This song is basically perfect to my ears.
This song gets a 10/10 - Love it. Love it. Love it.

12. Kimi no mama (4:19)
This song is peaceful and sweet. TAKUYA has very calming vocals in this song. He doesn't stretch his voice too much and he uses a single octave most of the time. Which keeps it peaceful. Also the acoustic guitars and bass in the background mixed with a string ensemble mixes it all together perfect for a smooth and beautiful song. The drums are not too much but instead very simple which is what you want for a peaceful song.
This song gets an 8/10 - Very soothing and calming but missing some pieces

13. GO-ON (2nd Mix) (4:22)
This song just screams energy. The guitars are constantly going with very fast riffs and mini solos on top of each other. The programming keeps the beat just like the drums would. The drums are sort of hard to hear in all of the noise but they help strengthen the programming. The bass keeps the basic feeling by going at a steady rhythm instead of speeding up or slowing down. The vocals are awesome in this song. They fit perfectly with what the music is doing. This is one of their best songs.
This song gets a 10/10 - One of their best songs ever and probably their best fast paced song.

This album is basically amazing all around. It has its weak pieces but so does every album. It has a mixture of almost every kind of song. It has fast energetic songs that can get you running and it has songs to mellow you out if you want to relax. This album has a lot of feeling in most of its songs. I recommend this to anyone. New to J-rock or someone whos been following it for a long time.

This album all together gets a 8/10 - It has three basically perfect songs with a lot close behind. There are some songs that drag it down a little but if you look past that then it's phenomenal.